The original panel of BBC’s Dragon’s Den consisted of five investors.
The first UK series launched in 2005 with Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Rachel Elnaugh, Simon Woodroffe and Doug Richard. Entrepreneurs entered the Den seeking investment in exchange for a share of their businesses.
The number of Dragons has changed over time as panel members joined and left. Later series sometimes used guest Dragons, but the original format’s panel had five members. This is distinct from the number of entrepreneurs pitching in an episode, which varies.
The programme is the British version of an international format based on the Japanese show Money Tigers. Its title uses “Dragons” for the investors, while the comparable international franchise is often known as Shark Tank.